Chapter 49: The Paths Ahead

"Yue has to know about this," came Katara's response to Arnook and Ahnah's proposal. "We can't just compel her into something like this last-minute."

It was a matter of expediting the wedding to tonight, likely to a time past midnight when the rest of the tribe was asleep. The core of the leaders' arguments was the necessity of officially binding Yue with Sokka; the isumataq had demonstrated the pinnacle of his willingness to protect the dronningi by taking a stab to the arm and afterwards continuing to go after her. At least, according to what the isumataq had revealed to Katara and what Katara had conveyed to the Northern chief and chieftess. While Arnook and Ahnah by no means wanted Sokka to be hurt, nor did they want or expect him to take such hits that would otherwise be fatal, they were nevertheless won over by the extent the prince went to protect their daughter. The numbers they'd gathered from the details confirmed the same, for Sokka had been clearly outmatched when he'd taken on the members of the opposing group, and he still succeeded in saving the dronningi.

There was no greater demonstration of care and loyalty than that specific act, the Northern leaders reasoned, and hence their utter (sexism-induced) desperation to leave their daughter under Sokka's care as soon as possible. Of course, Yue wouldn't understand that, they felt. She simply had no regard for herself, it seemed, and it was obvious to even Ahnah, who hadn't been in the North but for a day and a few hours at the most.

"Yue already agreed to the marriage," Arnook pointed out, keeping in mind these factors as he responded to Katara's vehemence. "There's nothing to compel her to. Sure, this may come off as a surprise, but none of this is against her will."

"Still," Aang interjected. "She may have agreed, but she's likely not prepared to have the marriage today." And like Katara, the airbender was presently contemplating the fact that Arnook and Ahnah don't know about the contractual nature underlining this arrangement. It wasn't much of a mutual "acceptance" of marriage the way the Northern leaders envisioned it. Nevertheless, such an expedited process required Yue's assent, especially.

"We will talk to her, we will," Ahnah assured. "We're not just going to tell her to sit through the ceremony and inform her during or after the fact."

"I can run it by her right now," Katara stood up, ready to leave if need be, "She has to know in advance, not the minute before. Sokka needs to know, too—"

"I want you to wait in telling Yue," Arnook told her. "She's launching the Black Lotus today, and I don't want her to be distracted by this. She has been looking forward to launching this project since…I'd say a month, but since forever, actually. She has always been passionate about social service. I don't want her to go on a rampage about how we're ruining all of her opportunities if she finds out about this beforehand." Sighing, "And besides, we're not in a position to argue with her or put up a fight right away. It's best to tell her after the Conference."

"And also, I have a feeling that Sokka's going to tell her if you tell him about this," Ahnah added. "So I suggest you hold off on telling him as well."

"This isn't right," Katara frowned.

"They both agreed to this anyway, didn't they?" Arnook kept challenging. "They're engaged! What's wrong with expediting the process?"

"Well…yes, angayok, but…She may not be ready—"

"But the stakes are very high, Daughter," came the persistent argument. "This has to do with keeping her safe. Keeping her alive. I don't see how expediting this would be so unjust, especially if they're already engaged."

"Because it just is," came an argument that Aang knew would be lamer in the absence of the details they were forbidden from telling the Northern leaders. "They need the time to prepare themselves—"

"For what? Sitting in front of the sacred fire?" Arnook frowned, "What preparation is needed for sitting down for a few hours? Unless they had a wedding night to prepare for, but the Consummation Night won't be tonight, rest assured."

Fighting off the awkwardness of the mention and the nervousness that came with how Sokka and Yue would get around that part, "I still don't think this is something to rush," came Aang's stubborn argument. "And I don't think expediting the process will be helpful, necessarily. I can talk to the White Lotus sentries. They will be sure to arrange some kind of security for Yue until the wedding date we originally agreed to—"

"If Yue was the type to agree to security, we wouldn't be sitting here literally scheming our daughter's urgent wedding right now."

"I mean that we could appoint security without her knowledge—"

"My daughter is not naive enough to be oblivious to security measures."

Katara gave an exasperated sigh, "I still don't think this is fair even if the wedding isn't entirely out of the blue."

"Do you know of any other option then, Daughter?" Ahnah asked, her voice shaking. "If my daughter wasn't so righteous and was actually willing to let others bear the risk of taking her hits for her, then we wouldn't be sitting here worrying ourselves to death."

"We've been wasting our lives in anxiety since the day we found her," Arnook gulped, "And we can't take it anymore. We need to have some kind of guarantee that she will be safe. Some assurance. Especially if we're encouraged to leave this place and not take her with us."

It was a valid concern on their part, and Aang and Katara recognized that. It just would've been easier if Yue did have feelings for Sokka the way he did for her. She may admire him. She may even adore him. But love? That wasn't something made obvious, nor could anyone expect it to even occur this quickly given it was only one week. One eventful week but one week nevertheless with regard to the Southerners' arrival and duration of their stay.

"I know you may have wanted your brother's wedding to be much grander than this," Ahnah told Katara. "He has put off such an important and sacred part of his life until now, and it is only fair if this sacrament is recognized. Especially in the knowledge and presence of your parents and more importantly, your grandparents. Arnook told me everything about this…about the complications that came with this arrangement…" sporting a look of guilt, "We do feel bad about this, but what other choice do we have?"

"We're not too worried about that," Katara admitted. "What really matters is what Sokka wants, not what a bunch of people other than him— family or not— think he'd want." Sighing, "And I know Mom and Dad would want to be involved, and it's fair that they should know…But I do want to say with all honesty that convincing them to have Sokka and Yue marry will not be easy."

"Even after knowing that Sokka had feelings for Yue, they tried to have him be betrothed to someone else. They only backed out because they were worried about reputation. Sokka repeatedly tried to convince them to give him and Yue a chance. He kept trying to make his feelings more clear. And in no way am I defending the idea of getting them married without Chief Hakoda and Chieftess Kya's knowledge, but they've been shutting down his feelings enough. In public, too. And I think that's enough to say that Chief Hakoda and Chieftess Kya are really not open-minded and open-hearted about Yue."

And the reasons for that, though not explicitly stated, were obvious.

"It's because my brother has feelings for Yue that he's not going to force her into something she'll panic over," Katara said, reiterating her earlier point. "A wedding won't happen if either Yue doesn't know about it or if Sokka's not given a chance to let her know—"

"We will let her know, we assure you," Arnook promised. "This is a last-minute arrangement in nature. It's not like we've been deliberately putting it off. We wanted to wait until the full moon, too, but after that emergency…" he didn't finish, distraught by the horrifying details that flooded through him again. "Just let this conference be over with, and let her rest for a few hours afterward. We will tell them then."

"There's an old Water Tribe story that I always like to tell," the princess spoke, facing an audience of hundreds in number, her voice gentle yet somehow managing to project to all corners of the vast meeting chamber. "It's more of a fairytale, really, and I've taken the liberty to change it up for a more inclusive message, but that's beside the point."

She spoke of a small Water Tribe kingdom that existed long ago in legend. Living in the kingdom's palace was the tribe's chieftess, who was often reenvisioned as Tui by the religious imagination. The said chieftess was coronated in her childhood, and a couple of years into her youth, she decided to choose someone as her consort. She kept in mind that the man she was to marry would not only be a fitting companion for her but also a worthy candidate for chiefdom: a man pure of heart, born with a propensity to be moved by another's suffering. A man who— reenvisioned as La by the religious imagination— would be a loving father to her people.

There were supposedly several men who came to ask for the chieftess's hand in marriage. The vast majority of the men were turned away, but there were two who remained persistent. The first man was the epitome of male Water Tribe fashion— an oversized hulk with a chiseled chin that could stab through one's heart; silk robes and a headdress with twenty feathers instead of five. He was perfumed down to the very last strand of hair in his warrior's wolf tail, hair loopies flying in every direction. Not to mention the five different blades at his belt and two additional daggers hidden away in his snow boots. He didn't smile, either, and he was, safe to say, sharp in the very literal sense of the word.

And then came the second man. He probably tried to put some effort into his appearance, but he didn't exactly come across as flattering at first sight thanks to the inks smeared on his jaw and hands. The feathers in his headdress were falling off and getting caught up in his coat, which smelled like a mixture of sea prunes and wet polar bear dog. Forget immaculate silk robes; his shirt was muddy, and given its dampness, it was easily torn. He might've combed his hair, but it still contained blobs of snow. The man was tired, his exhaustion confirmed by the fiery red of his sleepless eyes, and he probably carried but a small whalebone blade given his warrior status. What he did have to offer without shyness or shame was a gentle, toothy grin, a relentless beam of enthusiasm.

"In the original story, the chieftess chose the first man; the writings of some of our predecessors indicate that a god is obviously an oversized hulk who drowns a woman in his cologne and slices off every non-complying head he sees," her voice dripped with sarcasm. "But in my version, I submit to you that she chose the second man. How she realized she would share an earth-shattering romance with that second man is not the subject of our discussion today. Instead, I would like us to take a moment to dwell on which characteristics made that man desirable enough to lead an entire nation."

The chieftess chose the second man to lead the nation alongside her because she was able to see that his outward manifestations— the grime on his clothes, the wild in his hair— were testaments to his various acts of social service.

"The first man was 'prim and proper' because he had no other objective than to win over the chieftess and the position she offered," Yue said. "The second man, however, had spent his time aiding the people in the streets, demonstrating that he didn't fear traversing the slums to help those in need. He had spent the day feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, educating the destitute. He had hunted to provide during the day, patrolling the tribe in the dead of the night."

And indeed, the crimson in his eyes was a result of righteous rage, and his tears mourned victims of injustice. And yet, the smile on his face simultaneously demonstrated his warm, hopeful ambiance, coupled with his courage to emote. His lack of extensive weaponry further indicated his propensity towards life and preservation as opposed to death and toxicity.

"Contrary to the argument that is bound to be raised by our conservatives, the second man was not the chieftess's choice because Water Tribe women are subservient and expected to put up with trash on a regular basis," Yue's eyes danced over the crown jewels of patriarchy seated at the very front in the form of Chief Hakoda and Chieftess Kya, who had been staring at her without a blink for what seemed like several minutes.

"And no, gentlemen, it also doesn't mean you shouldn't put your best effort into looking good for us," the princess said, "So do wear your cologne if you will, please do so."

Which invoked several chuckles throughout the room and— even if for a split second— may or may not have evoked smiles from Hakoda and Kya. They caught themselves, though, and simultaneously turned to look at Sokka, who was sitting near Arnook and the "healer lady" who accompanied the Northern chieftain. At present, Sokka was visibly enamored by the princess and engrossed in her speech, sporting an impassioned look and a wide, rare beam as a result of the strong pull she had on him.

"Don't need to tell him twice," Hakoda frowned, referring to his oldest, "He emptied five colognes in a week's time."

Kya, though, was a bit more sensitive in that she took note of Sokka's feelings to a greater extent, finding it to be more unfortunate than blasphemous, "I've never seen Sokka like this before," she noted. "He's obsessed with her, Hakoda."

And it was alarmingly true. "Because she puts on a show that she's Tui, and because he's the incarnate La, he's attracted," the chief crossed his arms, shaking his head as he murmured, "There's no real way a person can be born with white hair and bright skin. Maybe she carries Air Nomad lineage. She's not of royal blood anyhow."

"That still wouldn't explain her hair being—"

"She bleached it somehow, she had to." But the chief still couldn't figure out why he was being so moved. Regardless of him telling himself that she was likely pandering to the pious with her Tui-esque appearance yet to be revealed to the public.

"What I would like for us to extract from this albeit-silly story instead are characteristics that make one similarly desirable," Yue continued on. "The characteristics that we expect not just from certain genders within certain relationships but from humanity as a whole beyond literal courtships or romantic pursuits. We can take this story and run with it, provide commentary after commentary on its suggested social implications, but the main idea I like to extract from this story is that we as human beings are drawn to sources that provide and sustain. Call it science, call it our innate biological response favoring a that upholds life. We are attracted as a species— as members of lifekind— to nourishment. We are fulfilled in eradicating, in the very least lessening suffering."

Though her hypothesis has been challenged regularly by the social issues that have been plaguing the Water Tribe. It was, of course, highly unfortunate that the Water Tribe was being forced to consort with the principles embodied by the first suitor in the story.

"In just the Northern division of the Water Tribe, approximately eighty-eight million gold pieces are spent in the manufacture of weaponry alone," the dronningi announced. "That's roughly sixty million, nine million, and fifty million gold pieces in Earth, Fire, and Air currencies respectively. The incentives for this high-scale production of weapons come from consistent skirmishes with local groups and minority tribes over disputes so idiotic that even schoolchildren wouldn't entertain."

And not to mention a tragically significant portion of these weaponry profits were also coming from sexist households, for many of these weapons are cracked open within private walls, breeding domestic and sexual violence cases.

"The Water Tribe government has consistently failed to provide a rationale for why millions are being spent to essentially behead and rape people. Why we are not able to allocate adequate funds for our healing centers and research institutes instead," Yue pointed out. "The government has failed to address why we rose to the level of having one of the largest armies in the world but cannot even envision upgrading our flawed education system and providing for our schoolhouses. Where is the use in beautifying the face of the capital on a regular basis when welfare missions are being blocked from cleaning up our neighboring slums and improving the lives of our destitute? Why has our fraternity been replaced by discrimination of various kinds?"

And these were not just questions that she posed to the Water Tribe alone, for these issues resonated with many of the dilemmas presented by the leaders of the other nations.

"Why is it that in various parts of the world, not just the Water Tribe, warring is deemed nobler than preventing war? Why is someone who stays behind to support one's family a coward and someone who seeks to end another's life a hero? Why must our pride in our lands necessarily result in the deprivation of another's territory? Of course, these issues are only snippets of many moral problems that have been plaguing our nations. But what I hope to accomplish under my administration— specifically in the Northern Water Tribe context— is to at least start off by revising our justice system and our infrastructure. Tear down the walls that divide our sectors, to provide an example. The walls we have built around ourselves are mirrors to the walls we have built in our minds and hearts, and these walls have been dangerously supported by inane judicial codes…"

And granted, this was stemming from the specific Water Tribe context, but the core values of preserving the integrity of nations were, as Yue mentioned, values that they all shared. This was evident from the issues presented by each respective nation thus far— the Earth Kingdom's battle with classism and communal conflicts, the Fire Nation's struggle with curbing the oppression of minorities, the lay Air communities' struggles with patriarchy accompanied by the problem of silenced sexual assault in a few remote monasteries.

"I am of the belief that if one wishes to identify oneself as a true patriot of a nation, they would be quick to identify the flaws of its system and strive to eliminate those flaws. This is why I extend my invitation to those who feel the same and similarly wish to bring about changes in their respective nations, for no country, no matter how outwardly perfect, is free of its internal battles. To those who agree and would like to join me in courting the forces of life and preservation, all I would like from you is cooperation. And by cooperation, I do not mean funding. I will bear all necessary costs in the execution of this project just as I have arranged for its launch. All I request of interested persons is an unflinching focus on the issues that may be plaguing their respective jurisdictions. The purpose of the Order of the Black Lotus is to foster justice around the globe, to extend helping hands to those in need, to utilize the resources we have for the good of the people and not to extract funds from them."

Holding her head up high as she turned back to the audience, a gleam of confidence in her eyes, "We may not expect utopias, but that does not mean we should stop trying to create them. I am hoping more of you will jump at the chance, my friends, and I urge you to join the cause."

The chamber erupted with cheers and standing ovations, the force of the applause slightly rattling and shaking the chamber. Arnook, accompanied Ahnah, who sported a healer uniform as her disguise, stood and watched from their isolated seating section; the proud couple wondered how much stronger such applause of this level would've been had the princess exposed her Tui-esque appearance, for she certainly illuminated the room with her presence and the strength exuded from her words. The Southern royals— well, Amaruq and his family, specifically— were vocal about their support as well. Kya and Hakoda, who were standing only to avoid sticking out like sore thumbs, were more uncertain. Well, Hakoda was, at least, for Kya was getting increasingly more impatient about wanting to see the princess for herself, reading into the situation from a perspective of great piety and confusion. Truth to be told, both Southern leaders were seized by greater fascination following the dronningi's speech. They nearly vibrated with curiosity, their attention commanded by her charisma. All despite the fact that she was the Akna.

Yet even then, the real embodiment of awe over the princess was the Southern prince, who was squeeing and fidgeting giddily on stage, clapping with his whole being.

"WOOO! WOOOOOO! WE LOVE YOU, DRONNINGI!" Sokka hollered much to the amusement of Ting Yun, the Revivalists, and the other members of the princess's cabinet, who chuckled along to his antics and joined in his special applause. And although the princess's face was covered, the smile she cast just for the isumataq did not go unnoticed.

"There he goes," Kiguk laughed, looking at his cousin who was now close to swooning on stage as he rushed up to her, still leading the applause, "What a fanboy."

"Might as well propose to her right here while he's at it," Hakoda muttered, his reaction juxtaposed by the tease of devotion. How could one resemble Tui so much in appearance enough to rouse icy hearts and bring tears to the eyes of the viewer and yet posit oneself as the enemy of long-standing tradition?

"It is with great honor and delight that I now invite the co-leader of the Black Lotus Project onto this platform," Yue said once the crowd finally managed to calm down, "She will announce the names of the other interested parties with whom I have communicated prior to this meeting. We already have one of our chief members up here," she gestured to Sokka, eliciting a wide grin from the Southern prince as he, too, earned applause.

"Friends, please join me in welcoming my dear sister, friend, and inspiration from the sister tribe; a candidate most worthy of a share of this huge responsibility: Princess Katara of the Southern Water Tribe!"

And more applause followed as Katara hastily made her way towards the platform, joy radiating in her eyes.

"Go, Katara!" Aang clapped along, surprised when the Southern princess, instead of passing by him, grasped the monk's hand and tugged him along with her.

"Might as well bring your boyfriend up here while you're at it, huh?" Sokka teased his sister, earning a subtle jab to his foot in response. The Northern and Southern princesses then shared a warm hug, much to the flinching reaction of the Southern chief and chieftess. They tried to gulp down their fears, deciding on dumping a whole bucketful of holy water over their daughter later on.

Yue handed Katara a scroll bearing a glistening black seal, and Katara accepted it with a smile that reached the ends of the earth. Following a short speech of her own, expressing her gratitude and loyalty to the princess and the Northern Water Tribe, the Southern dronningi gave the disclaimer that this was by no means an exhaustive list of all members and that the invitation would always be open for other interested persons to reach out and join. The master waterbender then welcomed onto the center platform many leaders and representatives: Master Huu of the Foggy Swamp Tribe, Teo (who represented the Earth Kingdom division of Northern Air Temple territory), Lady Toph Bei Fong (though excused from walking up to the front in the ice), Prince Bumi of Omashu, Lady Suki of Kyoshi Island, Haru of Su 'Tseo; Lady Mai, Prince Zuko, Prince Lu Ten, and Representative Kuzon of the Fire Nation; Sisters Iio, Llamo, and Choden from the Eastern Air Temple along with Monks Tashi and Pasang from the Southern Air Temple.

"We certainly have a great team on stage," spoke Prince Lu Ten, who had taken the chance to speak for the Fire Nation given the fact that Ozai and Azula had deliberately avoided attendance. "I know that I, myself, am honored to have been accepted into the group. But before I am formally initiated, I want to take this moment to publicly apologize on behalf of the Fire Nation royal family, honorable dronningi," Lu Ten turned to the Northern princess. "Several offensive comments had been made yesterday. We assure you that it will not happen again."

"On the contrary, Brother Lu Ten, I must be thanking the Fire Nation for giving me the opportunity to demonstrate how seriously tethered I am to the Black Lotus Project," the princess smiled. "One's passion for justice must be unabashed, unapologetic. Even if it means storming out of an international meeting."

Katara, though caught up in the excitement, was reminded of the task that remained upon seeing her brother completely lose himself in the Northern princess. The Southern princess couldn't resist taking a glance at Arnook and Ahnah and then to Hakoda and Kya, bearing in mind the preparations that were currently taking place at the Spirit Oasis. And judging by the look that Aang shared with her, he was ruminating on the same thing.

It won't be long now, will it?

As if she didn't just give one of the best speeches he'd ever heard, as if she hadn't nearly caused the meeting chamber to collapse from the applause that followed, as if she hadn't been bombarded with nearly several interested journalists on her way out, the princess of the North, clad in her servant's uniform, was engaged in the task of washing the dishes near the palace kitchen following lunch. He was beside her, soap and foam lining his elbows and somehow clinging to his shirt and chin as he absentmindedly rubbed the cleaning rag across a single plate for several minutes. He was distracted, obviously, watching her as she played around with the soapy water. She had maneuvered the water in a way that an ample amount of soap was trapped in the circle she formed with her thumb and index finger; she blew through the small circular space, the impact producing bubbles of all sizes, and like a little kid, she spent several minutes trying to catch and pop all the bubbles.

"Is there something on my face?"

He blinked, "No, why?"

"You seem to be staring at me."

"Oh, sorry, I…" rubbing the back of his head, a smile on his lips, "You were phenomenal back there, you know."

"Why thank you, Mr. Wang," she grinned, "I try."

"You don't have to try, you're effortless," he brushed the soap away from his chin only to end up smearing more soap on his cheek. She chuckled and bent the foam away.

"I like the story, too," he told her. "It really humanizes La."

"You do know I'm a humanistic believer," she said, taking the liberty to tuck back the stray strands of his messy wolf tail. "There's also a version of the story where the chieftess doesn't choose someone. In that version, she realizes everything's a trick. Why should she choose if she herself is Tui and La?" Shrugging, "But that one has a theological spin to it. You wouldn't be interested in that part, but the rest is about self-love and independence, so you might find that more interesting."

"I'm guessing you like that one better, then?"

"I like both versions for different reasons. Depending on the situation, I think of the one that works best. The second one wouldn't have really fit my speech as much, so I didn't talk about it. But maybe another time."

"Well I'd say the speech was a huge success as will be the Black Lotus," he said. "All those people swarming us after the conference."

"It does make me feel hopeful," she mused. "Really, the Black Lotus is an extension of the Revivalist Mission…or what I always wanted the mission to be. Only this time, I hope the Black Lotus doesn't get caught up in political affiliations."

"It won't. At least, I'll do what I can to make sure it doesn't."

She flashed him a grin. "One more day and the conferences will be over. And tomorrow, I'll be witnessing your phenomenality when you give your speech."

"Eh, I guess."

"You guess?"

"I'm not all the way there with public speaking yet," he admitted. "I've gotten better than before, and I tend to do well under high pressure sometimes, but I could still use some work."

"You have a lot of passion for the South in you, isumataq. Just let that passion take over. You'll be phenomenal, too."

His smile grew soft as he watched her go back to her bubble-blowing, and yet, he was starting to see exhaustion lightly cross over her features. He knew that she was yet to recover from the attack last night; she might not show it explicitly, but she was drained in more ways than one.

"You find me that interesting today, isumataq?"

"You're always interesting," he said, "But I just want to make sure you're okay."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well...last night was pretty rough…"

"Don't wear yourself out worrying, oh doting bodyguard. I'm doing fine."

"It's not doting. I just want to be sure you're okay. I know it's overwhelming."

"I appreciate that, but it's not my first time fighting a large group, nor is it my first time being attacked by people intending things other than just injury."

"That doesn't make it any less horrible!"

"Obviously, and that's why those men are in prison."

"I meant that it won't have any less of a stressful impact on your wellbeing. I was terrified seeing you like that…"

"Well it's over," she breathed, "Just let it go. We can't ever forget it happened, but we can move on from it."

Frowning, "You're only playing it cool because it concerns you. If this had happened to someone else, you wouldn't be saying this."

To which she gave him a look, not because he was wrong but because he wasn't. She may have been able to share certain things with him up until this point, but the truth of the matter was that she just didn't have the luxury of talking to people about what she was feeling and other such things. Osha went about calling her a literal goddess and wasn't necessarily someone Yue could approach with nontrivial matters, and even when Hama had been overseeing the young dronningi, Yue had never approached her on a level surpassing jokes and stories.

"Again, I won't force you to talk about it if you really don't want to, but I understand it's not something easy to process. If you need a venting buddy—"

"Venting buddy?" she said, amused.

"I'm serious. If you need to let your stress out, I'm here to help." And he went back to his task at hand, rubbing away with furious determination at a persistent stain on one of the dishes. His struggle, however, accidentally caused the water bucket to tip over. He caught the bucket before it spilled the water entirely but nevertheless caused some of the water to spill over the princess's arm, "Sorry, sorry, dronningi!"

Deciding to lighten him up, she replied with a smirk, "Oh, that's okay," and took a handful of the water from the bucket. She splashed it over him deliberately.

"Hey!"

"It was an accident, Mr. Wang," she batted her eyes with fake innocence, "You know how I can be clumsy sometimes."

"Says the definition of grace."

"I think you're giving me too much credit there— ah!" she squealed as he splashed more quantities of water in her direction, dampening her tunic entirely. In retaliation, she heaved the whole bucket into her arms and dumped the entirety of its soapy contents onto the isumataq, who both scrambled and failed to avoid the tsunami-like wave that headed in his direction.

"Hey, go easy on me, you're a bender!"

"And that makes me better than you how?"

"It gives you an advantage, obviously!"

"Sorry, but I have zero sympathy for you. You're just too competent, you know?" And she hurled the remaining contents in the bucket towards him with a laugh, further drenching his body and heart in one go.

"You're being a bad influence on our Yue," the senior maid frowned at Sokka in spite of her amusement, "She hasn't cleaned a single dish properly, and moreover, she flooded the entire kitchen with dishwater thanks to you."

"To be fair, he started it," Yue blamed the warrior as she bent the water back into the bucket, grinning at his offended look.

"Me? You're the devious one here!"

"Devious? Me?" Turning to the senior maid, "You know I'm a classy, sophisticated young lady, don't you, Sister Qakhi?"

"I know you know better than to play around, Number Eight."

"How bold of you to assume she hasn't been working hard all day and was just playing around, Sister Qakhi," Sokka crossed his arms, "Let her have fun for once!"

"Oh, so you came here all the way from the South just to ensure our Yue's fun, then," the senior maid raised her eyebrows. "You know you shouldn't even be around the kitchen, Isumataq Sokka, you're a prince."

"Technically, hierarchy is nothing to our sister tribe," Yue said. "They have a greater sense of community than we do nowadays."

"I wish I could say that's the truth, but the hierarchy's gonna start taking over now that we actually have food and something to call a formal community," Sokka pointed out.

"So the princess did you more harm than good, huh?"

"I didn't say that," he looked at her, defending much to her smirk, "Disrespect against the princess will not be tolerated."

"Well regardless of what you practice down South, you've got absolutely no reason to be around these parts," Sister Qakhi said. "You're a man. What would you know of how the kitchen works?"

"You know, instead of spreading this myth that guys aren't supposed to be in the kitchen and then complaining about us not helping out, why can't you drag us into the kitchen for once? Make us do stuff. The earlier in our lives, the better. My Gran Gran did that. Well, she tried to until I made a huge mess of things, but hey, I'm a grown-ass man now." Picking up one of the plates, "You see this? This work of art?"

"I'll admit you've got some level of skill," Qakhi said, "Though you didn't have to waste this much water for, what, three plates? People say you're La and all that. You can't go about wasting water, can you?"

The rest of the maids couldn't help giggling at the comment.

"He's still learning," came Yue's defense. "He did well for a first-timer."

"I don't know, his efforts were mediocre to me. If he hadn't been drooling at you the entire time, he would've done more washing."

"I wasn't drooling!" the prince sputtered, masking his embarrassment with a frown as more giggles erupted, followed by a blink of surprise from the princess. Eventually shaking his head, trying to play it cool, "No appreciation, huh? Which is why I've come to a very important decision. I'm going to learn how to cook."

"Cook? You?" another maid snorted.

"It's not impossible," Sokka held his head high, "I for one would like to provide in every sense of the word. Prove to stuck up sexists," casting a look in the amused maids' direction, "that I can be a worthy cook."

"Not a bad idea, actually," the senior maid said. "Maybe he can cook something nice for his wife on occasion. Like when she winds up pregnant."

"Love and care? Are you kidding? That's too much to ask of our men these days," drawled another maid, who was clearly more of a pessimist.

"Not all of us are dicks, Sister Kiqueema," Sokka crossed his arms defensively, "We're human, too. We have feelings. We give hugs and we cuddle and stuff. We wanna do things for the people we care about."

"And it doesn't always have to be about romance," Yue interjected. "Preparing food is a means for survival. Say you're stranded in the Arctic with nothing but a raw piece of meat, and you know how to start a fire. Might as well learn how to cook the meat in the said fire instead of eating it raw and making yourself sick."

"Yeah, what she said, too," the isumataq agreed.

"Yeah yeah, we all know how anti-romance you are," the senior maid chuckled at Yue.

"I'm not anti-romance, I was pointing out a factual scenario—"

"Says the lady who's twenty-three and not married yet. Prince Sokka might be your age, but at least he's preparing himself in all the right departments."

Laughs followed, drawing a flush from the prince and a frown from the princess. "It never fails to surprise me how we're becoming more of a matchmaking culture day by day. Even with an alarming rate of sexual violence and crimes against women."

"Not all sex is bad," Qakhi said. "There's a reason why we humans are drawn to it. You talk about biology all the time; you'd know, wouldn't you?"

"It's an instinct to further our race, obviously—"

"But there's pleasure involved, too," Qakhi smirked, "But what would you forever-virgins know about it? You can't judge what you've never experienced."

"Well I'm not opening that door," Yue huffed, "I don't have enough faith in humanity."

"You've barely seen the world, though!" Qakhi told Yue, "If anything, the princess should be the one traumatized by men and sex, not you. When she'd closed down those brothels— the poor thing saw those horrors up close. And then the imposters, the kidnappings, the attack from last night, all those times she was threatened with assault—"

"Hey, cut it out! Can't you be sensitive?!" Sokka glared, his eyes softening immediately as they flew in Yue's direction.

"I'm sure the princess would appreciate your care, isumataq, but it's not like they're saying it to her face," the dronningi pointed out, dismissing the matter and going back to her task.

"Well that doesn't make it any less insensitive," he mumbled, having noted the trace of discomfort on her face. Needless to say that his level of concern left the rest of the maids utterly confused.

Following extensive preparation— about as much as was even possible for an impromptu wedding— the Northern leaders sent Ivaneq's assistant to convey the message that Sokka and Yue's joint presence was needed at the Moon Temple "for an important matter." The isumataq and dronningi weren't sure how important the matter at hand was going to be. At least, not until they stepped into the temple and saw that Arnook and Ahnah were accompanied by Aang and Katara. Osha, clad in a ceremonial robe that she normally wouldn't sport for small-scale events, further accompanied by all sorts of shamaness paraphernalia, gave the princess a welcoming smile that struck a chord straight through to the dronningi's bones. The temple was otherwise empty— no angakkuit, no fellow believers engaged in worship— despite the fact that the temple was supposed to be open to the public for several more hours. The excuse had apparently been that there was still work being done to restore the collapsed chamber, but the other observations had been enough to fuel Yue's suspicions. Well, the observations combined with the sheer jumpiness on her parents' faces.

The Avatar and the Southern dronningi walked over to Yue and Sokka as soon as they saw them. They began with a disclaimer that they should've told them about this earlier but had to refrain, and from there they attempted to say something coherent without blabbering simultaneously, but Ahnah interrupted them by taking Yue's hand, assuring the two that she would "handle it."

"What's wrong?" Sokka blinked.

"Nothing, ningauk, nothing at all," Ahnah assured, giving Aang and Katara another look that prompted them to pull Sokka to the side. The Northern chieftess pulled Yue along to a storage chamber in the back. Arnook took a deep breath and folded his hands in prayer before the "Akna's" idol at the altar, and with an invocation to the Spirits, he followed his wife and daughter.

The wildest thought that Yue could come up with was that the engagement was pushed up to tonight. Of course, that's not exactly what the conversation started off addressing.

"You had a responsibility to let us know about the attack, paniga," Ahnah frowned, "but you deliberately hid this from us. We deserve to know, we're your parents!"

"I didn't say anything because it would only make you more anxious," came the response. "I wasn't harmed, so there was no point making you suffer from this news."

"I told your father just a few hours ago that he needs to stop hiding things from me because he thinks it will all make me suffer," the chieftess said sharply, the response from the chief that followed indicating that he had no choice but to spill a vast majority if not all of the tea to her. "Sounds like you need the same exact talk, young lady."

"After this last-minute formal engagement plan, I assume," Yue crossed her arms. "I knew it was coming. You've both been extremely jumpy ever since you found out about the attack. All throughout the Conference, you kept whispering to each other. You likely had this all planned out."

She wasn't wrong in what fueled her prediction, they realized, but she still fell short of the actual plan: the wedding was tonight.

"The what?!" Yue dropped her arms to her sides, her eyes wide.

"You and Sokka are going to be married tonight," Arnook declared, mustering as much sternness as he could. "No exceptions, paniga."

Silence— a highly tense silence— followed, resulting in a million thoughts visibly racing through the princess. Disbelief, followed by denial, then a full-fledged streak of adrenalin that struck her.

"Paniga," Ahnah began, "Just listen to us for a minute, and we'll explain, okay—?"

"You can't do this!" Yue said, her attention directed at her father, "You said the full moon—!"

"That was when there wasn't an attempt on your life," Arnook specified, doing his best to keep calm, "If you didn't want to have the wedding so soon, you shouldn't have been so careless. You shouldn't have patrolled by yourself last night—"

"No, no, this isn't…" Yue backed away, shaking her head, "This wasn't the original plan!"

"Yue, we are not going to listen to any more excuses," the chief insisted. "This is a matter concerning your safety. And anyhow, you're already several years late—"

"You couldn't wait for another three days?!" Yue demanded, "You said I had up until the full moon!"

"I understand that, but that was before!" the chieftain quivered, impassioned by her defiance.

"Arnook, calm down," Ahnah frowned, careful and gentle as she approached her daughter. "Yue, your birth chart said you need to be married off by the full moon, and that's why your father had planned to have the wedding on the day of the full moon. That's why I agreed to it, too. I admit it's our fault; we shouldn't be changing up the date on you like this. But paniga, you have to understand. If we knew you'd be attacked, we would've set the date much sooner." Turning her attention to the idol, particularly to the returned La portion, and the overarching sight of the moon: the waxing quarter comprising equal portions of light and dark. "We were trying to look for an auspicious time, but we realized that there's no greater sign of good tidings than La's return home. The waxing quarter is no less auspicious than a full moon. In some ways, it's even more auspicious. Half light and half dark, half Tui and half La—"

"I'm sorry, but this isn't a question about auspiciousness, anaana," Yue bit her lip, "This is a question about how ready Sokka and I are… This is a matter concerning my life! Mine and the isumataq's lives—!"

"In the name of the Spirits, Yue, we don't have TIME! We're DESPERATE!" Arnook burst, his outrage causing the princess to nearly jump, "Do you not understand the situation you're in?!"

"Arnook, I told you to calm down—!"

"She just doesn't get it, Ahnah!" Arnook huffed, turning back to his daughter, "Paniga, please! I can't have you face the world all by yourself! We can't have you be a shield for the tribe and get wiped out at the enemy's first strike!" Running his hand through his hair, crippled by anxiety, "I knew something like this was going to happen sooner or later, but I didn't think…!"

And Yue was not sure if she should drown in the impending panic or hold herself together enough to consider her parents' genuine worry over her safety.

"He's right, paniga," Ahnah swallowed, tears pouring profusely down her face, her hand resting on her daughter's shoulder, "If anything happened to you…I wouldn't have been able to see you like this."

"I'll be fine, I tell you!" Yue tried to reason with them, "That was during an eclipse. It's not always going to happen like that. I'm not incompetent!"

"You can be the most competent person in the world, and this palace…this damn palace is going to swallow you up," Arnook shot back. "This palace is dangerous. Your mother and I would know! We both barely survived an assassination attempt!"

"I spent that night running, holding you in one arm and your father's hand with the other," Ahnah shuddered, reminded of the very trauma from that fateful solstice night twenty-three years prior. "I missed out on your entire childhood, your entire life because of the dangers that came with this position, and that all happened after we'd become chief and chieftess. But you…you're not even coronated yet and…We would've lost you had it not been for Sokka…!" the look in the chieftess's eyes turned wild with panic, "Please, Yue. We can't take much more of this anxiety, love. Please…"

"If you really want us to be safe and stress-free thousands of miles away from you, we need the reassurance that you will be in safe hands," Arnook said. "That there's at least one competent person who's willing to look out for you. What's wrong with our wish, paniga? Don't we deserve to be happy? Don't we deserve to live in peace?! And…I-I don't even see what's wrong in this, frankly! You're both engaged! You both agreed to this, didn't you? What's wrong with speeding up the marriage? What's so great about having the wedding at the end of the week instead of now when you agreed to this?! Unless if you had some elaborate scheme of some sort planned out so you can give us the slip. Because you're good at plans, right?"

"No, no—" she turned away, tearing at her bottom lip, fiddling with her thumbs.

"Then what's the matter?" Arnook pressed, "Why don't you want this, paniga—?"

"Because she needs time, dammit!" came an outburst from the doorway. A glaring Sokka stormed inside, followed closely by Aang and Katara, who were attempting (and failing) to calm him down.

"If you spend at least two seconds thinking about everything that happened, thinking about what she'd probably be feeling right now, then you wouldn't be standing here fishing for answers, Chief," the isumataq hissed. "You never thought that maybe she'd be feeling put-off by the horrible things that happened to those sisters in those brothels? You don't think that maybe, just maybe the imposter incident and the attack last night could've had lasting mental and emotional effects? You didn't think that, oh I don't know, she'd want to recover from all that?!"

But all of Sokka's outbursts only confirmed Ahnah's and Arnook's rationales behind leaving Yue under his care. "And three more days of waiting would've accomplished all of that?"

"We would've waited longer!" he howled, "I was going to come talk to you about that if you had just kept it together for another hour!"

"How much longer should we wait, then? Give us a time to work with." Taking a step closer to the prince, "When should we get you two married? How long is it going to take? Should we wait a month? A year? A decade?! Until she's…!" The chief didn't finish, but he didn't have to for them to understand. "You would know if you had a daughter in this situation. That's all I can say, Sokka."

"If I had a daughter in this situation, I'd be her bodyguard, Chief. I wouldn't force her into something she doesn't want to deal with!"

"Great! How about I stay in the North then? Be my own daughter's bodyguard? Problem solved!" Throwing his hands up in the air, "I'd rather be next to her and suffer a panic attack every hour than live thousands of miles away, picking apart my own brain wondering how she's faring!"

Well that probably would've been an option if you hadn't wasted your life drinking and ruining your health up until now! But Sokka didn't explicitly say it, holding onto a remaining ounce of patience, "It's because we care about you and the ataniq that we want you both out of this place! Don't you get it?!"

"Well this is a matter of my daughter's life. You think I wouldn't be ready to lay my life down for her?"

And at that, Yue seemed to freeze inside-out, irises glazed over with a sudden onslaught of moisture. She blinked to do away with it, but that did nothing to stop the fact that her eyes were still boiling.

"Why would you have to lay down your life, Chief?" Aang interjected. "The White Lotus is willing to stay behind if need be. The sentries all respect Yue—"

"That would be assuming other people exist solely to look out for me," Yue frowned, "They have their own lives, their own feelings and duties and families—"

"You see that!" Arnook cried out, "This is why nothing else is going to work! My daughter's grandiose morals will never allow it!"

"Forget the White Lotus, then! I told you that I'm going to be beside her the entire time!" Sokka snapped.

"I'm also going to be here in the North for a considerable amount of time," Katara followed. "Yue is like my sister. I'll be watching back, too, Angayok."

But to Yue's anxious parents, those arguments, of course, held no more merit than Aang's suggestion. "I'm not as much of a blubberpuss as you all think I am," Arnook said. "I know how the world works. I know that fate is unpredictable, and I know that we can never be certain of anything. Whether that's our life or security or even the loyalty of people." Turning to Yue, specifically, "But in this very moment, in this very temple, in front of our very gods, I'm harboring the strong conviction that Sokka will be loyal to you enough to provide for you for the rest of your life. It is because I trust him this much that I want him beside you at all times. All times. And no, I'm not throwing him under any sleigh because I know he genuinely cares for you. Whether you want to believe it or not."

The princess said nothing, but it was easy to recognize the conflict written on her face.

"I know you wanted the time to fully contemplate this. I understand, I do," Arnook softened his voice. "I know that marriage isn't something that should happen on a whim, I'm not an idiot. But this is a matter of keeping you alive. If you don't care about your safety for yourself, then you should take care of yourself for the sake of the millions of tribefolk relying on you to change the face of the Water Tribe." Holding her by the shoulders, "Mr. Akluvik of the Leadership Council is just an hour away by sky bison. If you choose to go through with this, I will invite him here under emergency circumstances. He will give you all the documents you need tonight. In the Spirit Oasis the second after you're married. Sokka will be your Chieftain-Consort. And you will be the Chieftess."

Stepping out of her daze as she looked at him, eyes slightly widened. "Chieftess?"

Everyone else gawked at the chief, surprised.

"Wait…is Yue going to be coronated tonight?" Sokka's jaw dropped.

"No, but her status will be chieftess on paper," Ahnah explained before turning to her daughter. "You will have all the legal powers of a chieftess since you will have acquired a Chieftain-Consort. You are free to change any law at any time as you see fit with the exception of the Heir Policy, which is reserved for after your coronation. No one will know about your change of status, but they won't question you, thinking you're taking full authority under the emergency protocol."

"All that will be left is your coronation when you will be officially recognized," Arnook said. "To the tribe, you may still be the dronningi, but on paper, you know who you'll be? Chieftess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe! Ataniq Yue! Nunaatip Anaana!" Chieftess Yue! Mother of the Tribe!

And the entire time, Yue just gawked at her parents. Exhilaration, jubilation, elation— all were written on their faces for a split moment in time, coupled with a vibrant spark of hope that hinged on her decision.

"Yue, just take a moment to consider me and your mother," Arnook said to her. "We don't have it in us to hold off any longer. We don't have the strength to fear for your life another second, let alone a few days. There is no time. Anything can happen at any time. I'll stand here all day and tell you this over and over if I have to."

"Spare us from the suffering, Yue," Ahnah choked out, brushing at her eyes, "Please."

"Spare us from the suffering." The request played over and over in the princess's mind, rendering her helpless and uncertain. "I need to be alone."